Great white spotted off Wellfleet beach

Author(s):

Renee Nadeau Algarin

A 12-foot great white was spotted within six feet of a Wellfleet beach over the weekend, town officials report.

The shark was seen around 6:30 a.m. Sunday by Wellfleet police Officer Jerre Austin, an experienced deep-sea fisherman, said the town’s beach administrator Suzanne Grout Thomas. Austin spotted the fin just five or six feet offshore swimming near a group of seals.

Thomas called it the town’s first confirmed sighting. A second, unconfirmed sighting was reported by beachgoers Monday, she said. They were unable to estimate how far offshore the fin was seen, but Thomas said it was not as close to shore as the shark spotted Sunday.

The town has had signs warning beachgoers that they swim at their own risk ever since a man was bitten by a shark in nearby Truro.

State wildlife officials are confirming that the shark seen in Wellfleet was a great white, said Reggie Zimmerman, spokesman for the department of energy and environmental affairs.